


Sweet And Sharp

by LunaLeDragonet



Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Help, How Do I Tag, Infected Quirrel, M/M, Quirrel Needs Help, Suicidal Ideation, Suicide Attempt, The Infection (Hollow Knight), Tiso doesn't know how to care without yelling, Well - Freeform, but he really does care, he's just not well-versed in it, in the later chapters, no beta reader we die like Radiance, some - Freeform, that's one of the problems here, ummmm, yeah don't worry there'll be some of that too, you'll see - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:48:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24222319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LunaLeDragonet/pseuds/LunaLeDragonet
Summary: Quirrel would like to rest for once.Unfortunately, life doesn't want to let him.Or,Quirrel getting screwed over by something rarely seen with him.Plus, some cute gay bugs.
Relationships: Quirrel & Tiso (Hollow Knight), Quirrel/Tiso (Hollow Knight)
Comments: 21
Kudos: 101





	1. One Little Speck

The Blue Lake was beautiful.

Looking out here from the shore for this long, Quirrel couldn't help but frown at the thought of defiling this place of peace. It had many places to hide away while he rested, though. He just didn't want to ruin the sight for anyone else that would come here, and he knew there would be. Who could resist the call of this place, after all?

Well, the call of Quirrel's want to come here wasn't the same as the call from before, that incessant pulling of his former Teacher to lift the protection on her so that the little wanderer could ~~_kill her_~~ save the ruins of Hallownest.

 _'Such a big feat for a small, small bug...'_ He thought again. No amount of the times he'd thought that entered his mind, as he hadn't bothered to try and keep track, but it had looped at least a few several times.

The little wanderer had come to see him one last time after ~~_murdering his Teacher_~~ he had fulfilled his duty. He had talked to them, like he had been doing whenever they stopped next to him. He hadn't had much to say, but they sat next to him for a little while, stoic and silent like always. But this time, the calm, if cold, air around them was heavy, as if the burden they carried was greater than Quirrel could ever know. He didn't, of course, and neither did he know how to comfort the little thing. Eventually, they left, leaving behind an awful sense of finality that the poor pillbug had never felt before. At least, not at this level.

After that, he had just stayed at the Blue Lake, having nowhere else to go. He would've hoped that the little wanderer would come back, except he didn't think he had enough energy left to hope. He would've slept, but his eyes wouldn't stay closed. Truthfully, he didn't feel tired at all. He just felt...

...Numb.

Empty.

He shouldn't be like this, he thought. This wasn't him.

Although, given the revelations of the past several hours, he wasn't really sure what was "him" and what the Teacher had made of him. He didn't even know if the nail by his side, now stabbed deep into the sand, was really his. He didn't remember where he got it either, even with his memories returning, little by little, ever since he had gotten to the cliffs near Hallownest.

Despite his own thoughts drowning him, he heard the faintest rustling in a bush not far from the entrance. Slowly, he turned around...

And was met with something orange.

A small, slightly bloated, orange version of the Lifeblood seeds he sometimes used in a pinch.

He should be scared. He should kill this thing without hesitation.

But it was too small to really hurt him, and even if he did end up Infected from this little creature, maybe that would be better than a life with no purpose.

The orange Lifeseed thing skittered over to him, rather boldly, he thought. Without rationalizing or even really caring, he put his hand down in front of it, palm out. It tik-tik-tikked onto his fingers and held on with it's tiny, sticky limbs that seemed to burn him a little bit while he lifted it up to his face to take a closer look.

It certainly was of Infection, and yet it was tame( _burn_ ). It didn't make an attempt to bite him( _burn_ ), nor scratch him( _burns_ ), nor release it's boiling orange contents on his hand( _Burns_ ). Carefully( _It burns_ ), Quirrel lifted his other hand( _It burns_ ), and gently poked at the Lightseed( _IT BURNS_ ).

His claw was met with something sharp that burned through his shell in an instant.

Quirrel yelped and frantically flung the hand holding the Lightseed around at random. It stuck for a few moments, digging it's previously unnoticed claws into his skin, and then shot away into the water. The pristine, blue water.

Without even thinking on what kind of instinct he was following, Quirrel snatched the little thing of Infection out of the water before it could get away and threw it as hard as he could back into the foliage it came out.

The leaves rustled.

 _All_ the leaves rustled.

And a wave of tiny, orange Lightseeds consumed the green from the inside out.


	2. Sharp-Wit Shield

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warrior finds Scholar and hijinks ensue.

Quirrel stumbled backwards and very nearly fell, daring to sit down again would be very very very BAD-

His hand bumped the hilt of his needle and without hesitance, despite making a vow to himself just earlier that he would never use this nail again, started swinging at the army of Lightseeds that were marching towards him faster than he could cut. But his blade was long and easily took out a few lines of Lightseeds with every swing, leaving only some few lucky stragglers. More and more Lightseeds stained the sands with their bright orange blood, and yet they seemed to be never-ending, continuing to skitter towards the pillbug without any care for their fallen brethren.

Quirrel couldn't keep swinging forever, and though he was long used to the weight of his nail, his body tired faster than he remembered it doing so before. His swipes began to falter, leaving more and more Lightseeds alive for each one killed. They were already starting to swarm him, getting close enough to crawl up his legs and drag his body down. He could imagine them burning the Infection through his shell, into his body, condemning him to a fate the same as the husks, maybe even being cut apart by the little wanderer's nail, he _didN'T WANT TO DIE-_

Just as the bug felt his footing start to slip, a voice from behind yelled "DUCK!!" with rather a lot of urgency, so Quirrel attempted to duck his head as low as possible without giving the Lightseeds more advantage over his. One was already over halfway up his leg-

And then it was sliced clean through and fell to the ground. The bladed shell that had torn through it whirled through the mass of Lightseeds, incapacitating several and straight-up mutilating others. As it slowed down, Quirrel prepared to start slashing again...

And then the shell twisted it's course in midair and whipped back to it's owner, cutting through several more Lightseeds on it's way.

With renewed determination and his unknown helper, Quirrel raised his nail again and started hacking apart the remaining seeds that weren't already fleeing from the devastating blow to their ranks.

Within seconds, the last Lightseed disappeared back into the leaves they came out of.

Quirrel's nail slipped from his hands and just barely missed his feet as he tried to stay standing, just in case the seeds decided to come back again.

A hand tapped his shoulder and he whipped around in the span of half a second, his heart racing from adrenaline and fear.

He was not met with the orange glow of Infection, or a blade to his face. Instead, the bug standing there was triumphant, holding his orange-stained shell in the air. "Yeah, that's right! Get outta here before we cut the rest of you open!"

The bug laughed, an action that showed he was a little out of breath, then looked at Quirrel and patted his shoulder again. "Bet you're glad I got here in time, huh? You looked pretty bad off."

Quirrel didn't answer, more focused on getting his energy back while he examined the bug who had come to his aid. The shadow cast over his head by his hood obscured most of his features, but the scholar was pretty sure he could make out antlike features, even the barely-visible antennae hanging down behind his head.

"Hey, buddy, that wasn't a rhetorical question." The ant(?) said, snapping his fingers a couple times in front of Quirrel's face - 

_Monomon sharply tapped the table Quirrel was sitting at, making him look up. "You haven't eaten or slept in days, I can tell. C'mon, Quirrel, this project isn't that important."_

_"But Madam, this project holds the future of our Kingdom! If we fail-"_

_"A day of rest will not make this project fail. Go home and sleep, get some food in you, or I'll make you do it myself."_

_"Madam-"_

_And just like that, Quirrel was swooped up into Monomon's tentacles, her hold surprisingly strong. "Lady Monomon-!!"_

_"Do not "Lady Monomon" me. You are my top scholar and my friend, and I will not allow you to neglect your own well-being for the sake of others. We are going to your house, and you are going to sleep, and when you wake up, I will have a meal ready for you and I will make sure that you eat at least one plate."_

"- can make you something to eat, and you can sleep on the bed, I have stuff to do anyway."

"I- Huh?"

"Wow, you really are out of it. I said you're coming back to my house."

As Quirrel's head cleared and he came back to the present, he realized that the ant had been talking this whole time and he heard none of it.

"Uh, I'm... Sorry, I didn't catch any of that."

The ant stared at him, visibly appalled, mouth half-open to say something. Quirrel stared back for a few seconds before looking away, looking for literally anything to do. "I'm sorry, you really don't have to bother yourself with me, I'm simply a bit winded." He caught sight of his nail, still at his feet, and leaned down to pick it up. "Really, I'm okay, you don't have to..."

As he stood back up, nail in hand, the ant's hand landed on his own for a split second before he was being dragged away from the Blue Lake. "I'm serious, I'm fine! I only need rest and I'll be fine!" His head was swimming, what-

"You are NOT fine. You're covered in scorch marks( _Uumuu_ ), there are several wounds that haven't healed yet, are these acid burns? Not to mention, there were so many of those tiny things that just them crawling on you was enough to almost bring you down, and I'm pretty sure they burned you as well, and just in the few minutes I've known you, you've almost fallen asleep on your feet. You need some proper rest, and definitely not in a place where you're in danger of being attacked again at any moment. You are coming back to my house and you will not leave until you can at least walk without shaking like a leaf." He was shaking?

Quirrel looked down and realized he was indeed shaking. He was suddenly acutely aware of how weak his legs felt, like they would give up on him any moment and make him collapse. His grip on his nail had loosened to the point where even just a dip in the sand could make him drop it.

Why was he even bringing it with? It's not like he ever wanted to use it again. The Lightseeds were a spur-of-the-moment thing, he just needed something to protect himself.

He hadn't given up like he knew he should've.

And now a complete stranger was making it their problem instead of just letting Quirrel wither away and die like he was now meant to.

_Why?_


	3. Bright and Burned

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Quirrel doesn't know how to do things.  
> Tiso only helps him out of annoyance.

Quirrel ended up blanking out for most of the time it took for his savior to take him to his house. He came back to his senses enough to make the trip through the Resting Grounds up to the Stag Station, though most of the reason he didn't fall is because the ant wouldn't let go of his arm for more than a few seconds. Otherwise, he was sure he would've fallen from the ledges one too many times. Wouldn't be too bad...

Was he seriously thinking this way again? After those Lightseeds had pushed him to the verge of death?

Whatever. His savior had made it clear that he wouldn't let him die.

"Normally, as a true warrior, I wouldn't even think about using these lines." The ant's voice faded into his ears again. "But clearly, you're too out of shape to survive the trek back to my house."

So he was just a liability. Forcing this bug to do something he never would just because Quirrel couldn't take the walk. Maybe he shouldn't have fought back after all...

Though, it was kind of reassuring to feel his savior keeping a grip on his arm to make sure he didn't fall off the stag on the ride. He found himself wondering how a stag was still alive, although he had barely any memories of running into or riding one himself. Oh well. That should've been expected.

The ant's home, it turns out, was in the little town above the ruins, Dirtmouth. He pulled Quirrel out of the Station without so much as a glance at the other bugs here, although Quirrel didn't want to be rude so he waved to anyone they passed.

He stopped in front of one house and pulled a key out of his shell to unlock the door. Quirrel was pulled inside and promptly pushed onto a couch.

"Stay there," the ant ordered while pointing down at him. "I'm gonna get some stuff to heal those wounds of yours."

Quirrel obliged and sunk into the couch. It was surprisingly comfortable, and well-kept.

As he waited for the ant to come back, he became increasingly aware of the pain from his wounds. Stinging burns and aches seemed to be spreading all across his body, with one spot in particular on his back burning like hell.

Eventually, his savior came back with medical supplies and got to work treating Quirrel's injuries. He was surprisingly adept at it, being a warrior and presumably focusing on fighting, not healing. But it wasn't long before the stinging of the burns faded and the pillbug could breathe easy again.

Something nagged at him during the whole process, something he felt like he was supposed to know. Maybe this bug's identity? But he hadn't acted like he knew him after he saved him...

"Alright, that's the best I can do for now. Maybe when the pale thing comes back, it can help more." The ant got up off the couch and turned to face Quirrel, remaining medical supplies in hand. "You gonna be good there or am I gonna have to carry you to bed?"

"Huh? Oh, oh no, I'm fine. You needn't worry yourself over me." The ant gave him a slightly skeptical look. Quirrel held his gaze for a few seconds, and then had to look away.

"Alright, if you say so..." He turned around and walked away, just barely hearing Quirrel's mumbled "thank you".

-

Tiso looked down at the cloth he had used, stained with orange. The pillbug must not have noticed; he hadn't seemed like he knew he would be dangerous.

Why was he even keeping him around after discovering the splash of orange burning a hole into the pillbug's shell?

He should kill him as soon as possible before he got attached.

But he had just saved his life. Wouldn't killing him himself go against everything he had already done?

Maybe the pillbug wouldn't get Infected. Maybe everything would be fine.

And if it wasn't, well...

Tiso would just have to learn to not care.


End file.
